Chinese automaker Geely acquires Daimler shares worth 7.3 billion euros

22. March 2018

On February 23, 2018, the Chinese automaker Geely, represented by the CEO Li Shufu, now reported to be the largest single shareholder of Daimler AG. With the acquisition of 9.7 percent of Daimler shares worth 7.3 billion euros Geely wants to position itself more strongly in the market of electric vehicles and self-driving cars and compete with Google and Apple. According to CEO Li, Daimler has strengthened the investment in recent years in new technologies. Li’s Geely Automotive hopes to increase its cooperation in alternative vehicle drives and online services by purchasing the shares.

To buy into the traditional German manufacturer was an easy game for the billionaire Li Shufu, as Daimler, in contrast to the competitors BWM and VW is not under the control of an influential owner family. Daimler was anything but pleased with the Chinese investment. In autumn 2017, an obvious attempt to buy shares of 5 percent was denied. In response, Li acquired the shares on the open market and surprised Daimler with his announcement last week.

However, Chairman Li wants to actively support the Group in the future, but does not intend to fill one of the seats on the Supervisory Board. In order to present his plans, he has already completed a meeting with the Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche in the Stuttgart headquarters.

Geely has already taken over the automakers Volvo, Proton and Lotus in the past.

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